Industry type: Juice factory
Location: 11th Street at Church Street
Active dates: 1887-1917
Summary: Smith & Painter's business began as a drugstore located at the corner of 7th and Market Streets. As demand for their pineapple juice increased, the company expanded. In 1887, Smith & Painter purchased a lot alongside the Brandywine and erected larger factory. The company, which employed about 50 people, produced fruit juices and flavorings which were sold across the United States. In 1917, the firm was bought out by Hires and the plant was eventually closed. The building was later used as a garage and then the site of the U.S. Fire Apparatus Company. The buildings were torn down in 1934.
Citations: Scharf, John Thomas. History of Delaware 1609-1888, Vol. 2. Philadelphia: L. J. Richards & Co., 1888.
Zebley, Frank R. Along the Brandywine. Wilmington: William Cann, Inc., 1940, 200.